Ketogenic Diets Can Actually Be Good for Your Gut
The ketogenic diet (or keto) is more popular than ever. Ketogenesis focuses on eating meals that are high fat and low carbs. The concept of eating on a keto plan is to put the body in a state called ketosis, where it burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.
A wide range of published studies indicate following this type of diet has several benefits and can:
support weight loss
enhance energy levels
help maintain and even improve blood glucose levels
decrease some cardiovascular risk factors
reduce levels of free radicals
support brain health
help manage Crohn's disease (a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines)
and provide several other health benefits ,
Supports Intestinal Health
But one of the things you may not know about this very fashionable meal program is that it can also support gut health. When it comes to your digestive system, eating keto offers some interesting benefits:
1. Intestinal Balance
The ketogenic diet removes processed, carbohydrate-rich, sugary foods that are present in most of our diets.
During the keto process, minimal added sugar and processed foods are consumed. Since sugar feeds unwanted bacteria that can have a negative effect on the gastrointestinal system, this is extremely beneficial to gut health. As a result, keto supports the development of healthy bacteria and helps reduce bad bacteria.
2. Microbial Diversity
It’s no surprise that the foods you eat on a daily basis have a large impact on the health of your gut and microbiome.
The specific foods on the keto diet have been found to help promote the development of diverse bacteria. This may improve the balance of microbiome in the gut, allowing for the production of the good bacteria (probiotics) and overall digestive health.
The keto eating plan encourages specific types of dietary fats from healthy sources such as oily fish, organic meat, ghee (clarified butter), and plant oils (olive, flaxseed, sunflower, coconut oil, etc.).
In fact, the keto diet promotes the consumption of healthy fats from avocado, eggs, nuts, wild fatty fish, and more. Fat is important in maintaining health, and most of us don't get enough of the proper type.
Eating this way provides the body with omega-3 essential fatty acids which are closely correlated with microbial diversity. Omega-3 fatty acids improve the microbiome composition and allow the gut microbiome to thrive.
Keto and Your Gut
Research reinforces the value of the ketogenic diet, demonstrating that a low-carb, high-fat keto diet can offer a variety of health benefits.
Perhaps most importantly, research shows that a keto diet helps to increase beneficial gut microbiota to support optimum intestinal health.
If you're looking for a little extra support as you begin a keto diet regime, consider adding a high-quality probiotic to help replenish your microbiome and maintain a healthy balance of good bacteria in your gut.
